tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 16 09:20:40 2000

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Re: elements




On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Pillow wrote:
> 
> > <voQSIp> is nitrogen, but choke-gas doesn't fit the pattern, as we breath i
> t
> > and it makes up a great deal of our atmosphere.
>
quljIb added:
 
> Odd about nitrogen. I'd associate <voQSIp> more with chlorine.
>

first of all, as far as I can tell, {voQ} is only a verb, so 
identifying {voQSIp} with "choke gas" would be folk etymology

that said, nitrogen is "choke matter" ("Stickstoff") in
German too; my guess(!) is, that the name comes because
a nitrogen atmosphere will "choke" a flame; any chemists?

of course I haven't the slightest idea how Klingon chemists
decided on the names for these gases.

                                           Marc Ruehlaender
                                           aka HomDoq
                                           [email protected]


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